Cloudy water

[Carl Cardarelli]

I have a 600 gallon salt water tank up for several months, water been cloudy since almost day one, I was told to use hydrogen peroxide to clear bacteria bloom (get rid of cloudiness), 1 ounce to 10 gals of water. Has anyone ever heard of this and if so does it work. I would think it would hurt the bacteria bed and fish. Any advice be helpful in solving this problem. Thanks

 

[COreef8]

I have a 600 gallon salt water tank up for several months, water been cloudy since almost day one, I was told to use hydrogen peroxide to clear bacteria bloom (get rid of cloudiness), 1 ounce to 10 gals of water. Has anyone ever heard of this and if so does it work. I would think it would hurt the bacteria bed and fish. Any advice be helpful in solving this problem. Thanks

I've heard of people using H2O2 for this but I don't know enough about it's possible negative effects to actually recommend it.

What I know does work for sure is a UV sterilizer to clear up a bacterial bloom, but more reasonably, just increase the nutrient export. The free bacteria in the water is feeding on excess nutrients, which is not necessarily from poor maintenance. This is pretty typical in a new tank since there isn't a large population of beneficial organisms to uptake the nutrients yet, but the beneficial bacteria will eventually catch up and the water will clear.

Either way, adding a refugium, adding high quality activated carbon, increasing water change frequency/volume, or more aggressive skimming can all help lower the nutrient levels but it can take some time for the water to clear. A UV sterilizer could clear the water overnight but they're large and expensive.

 

[brandon429]

theres a huge chance that non settled sand is causing that, are you adding anything to the water for carbon dosing or anything in the sump that is different than a standard setup

there is no usage of peroxide in a reef tank that will kill or sterilize the biofilter. even in overdoses, the bacteria remain. chem thread has a big peroxide thread up running currently where its being discussed in nice detail.

UV is nice to have because its a wide-ranging control option and if that is bacterial it w help w that

bac blooms will almost never occur unless we're dosing to feed that extra mass, can't wait to know details

 

[Jon Fishman]

I have dosed H2O2. Can’t say I have ever really measured how much I used (used 14-16 or so ounces in a 75g once to fight Dinos) and have never had a problem.

BTAs hide for a day or two afterwards

 

[LAReefer4Life]

I've heard of people using H2O2 for this but I don't know enough about it's possible negative effects to actually recommend it.

What I know does work for sure is a UV sterilizer to clear up a bacterial bloom, but more reasonably, just increase the nutrient export. The free bacteria in the water is feeding on excess nutrients, which is not necessarily from poor maintenance. This is pretty typical in a new tank since there isn't a large population of beneficial organisms to uptake the nutrients yet, but the beneficial bacteria will eventually catch up and the water will clear.

Either way, adding a refugium, adding high quality activated carbon, increasing water change frequency/volume, or more aggressive skimming can all help lower the nutrient levels but it can take some time for the water to clear. A UV sterilizer could clear the water overnight but they're large and expensive.

+1 ^ Looks like bacterial bloom. Typical with a new tank. UV and activated carbon are your best bet.

 

[motortrendz]

Carbon or uv will definitly help. Other question I have is how fine is your sand bed? Reason I'm asking is bc i started my tank with super fin sand which looked amazing but with any flow it always created a sand storm and my water always looked a little cloudy. My sump was full of sand and my filter socks were always clogged with sand too.

 

[Carl Cardarelli]

I've heard of people using H2O2 for this but I don't know enough about it's possible negative effects to actually recommend it.

What I know does work for sure is a UV sterilizer to clear up a bacterial bloom, but more reasonably, just increase the nutrient export. The free bacteria in the water is feeding on excess nutrients, which is not necessarily from poor maintenance. This is pretty typical in a new tank since there isn't a large population of beneficial organisms to uptake the nutrients yet, but the beneficial bacteria will eventually catch up and the water will clear.

Either way, adding a refugium, adding high quality activated carbon, increasing water change frequency/volume, or more aggressive skimming can all help lower the nutrient levels but it can take some time for the water to clear. A UV sterilizer could clear the water overnight but they're large and expensive.

Thanks for the advice

 

[sixty_reefer]

Live bacteria is my suggestion to you mate.

 

[Peace River]

Another short term fix to consider for clarity is Chemi Pure Blue.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

What kind of filtration are you using? I see what looks like overflows, so assuming you have a sump. Or is it canister filters hooked to each overflow?

If filter socks, inspect them to see if it is sand particles.
If not, throw some in and see if it helps clear it up.

It could be sand or bacteria. Sock check if you have socks is a good first step, if you dont, throw some in and see. Also, you could turn the flow off from the gyres for a few hours and point your returns at the surface to ease flow on the sand bed. If either of those clear it up, then it is sand. If not, then something else.

May as well start with the super easy first just to see.

 

[Carl Cardarelli]

Thanks for everyones advice

 

[sixty_reefer]

Thanks for everyones advice

What’s your amônia reading?

 

[Carl Cardarelli]

Ammonia reading is zero